


A Game of Gods and Monsters

by miraellie



Series: The Accursed and the Heretic [4]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ravus Nox Fleuret Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:15:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29889267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraellie/pseuds/miraellie
Summary: Bahamut's Prophecy has been defeated, and the humans caught up in his schemes are free to live their lives. Things don't work out so well for Alexus, the Messenger of Ifrit who turned the gameboard over to help Elpis, the first Oracle, save the world. Now they must live with their punishment in the peace that follows Bahamut's loss. But things don't stay peaceful for long. When an old enemy strikes out from the darkness once again, Alexus must protect those they love again.(Sequel to WHAT TWIST OF FATE.)
Relationships: Ardyn Izunia/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Accursed and the Heretic [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1319678
Kudos: 2





	1. Forever... (is a long time)

**Author's Note:**

> In which our main character fucked around and must now find out. 
> 
> Title and lyrics are from Halsey's album Manic.

Build love, build God, build provinces  
Build calluses, break promises  
'Cause I could never hold a perfect thing and not demolish it  
What am I thinking? What does this mean?  
How could somebody ever love me?  
- _Forever... (is a long time)_ , Halsey

SENKA, ZEDEKAI, ESKARNE: The Psychopomp, The Justice, the Merciful  
In the days before Solheim, when the Astrals sat in Angelgard and cast their judgments, the three children of Ramuh were the embodiments of the three outcomes. Eskarne is the Merciful Lady, who stands for the innocent and the wrongfully accused. Zedekai is the Justice, who metes out punishment on those who have turned a blind eye to law. Senka is the Psychopomp, who takes the executed to the Beyond, and serves as the Gatekeeper to the final resting place of all living creatures.  
-COSMOGONY, Book of Messengers 

* * *

  
“Well,” Alexus said to themself as they stood in Angelgard, “that didn’t go the way I thought it would.”

It had gone the way they’d thought it would, up until the very end. That was what irritated Alexus the most. All those millennia of careful planning and getting the pieces to where they’d needed. All that time, waiting. Watching Elpis grow into the woman humanity had needed.

All the time spent ignoring their own feelings. Knowing that Elpis’ heart was always tied to another’s, even if she couldn’t remember him. Swallowing the bitterness and loneliness and telling themselves it didn’t matter.

And that moment of vindication when she had become the Goddess humanity themselves created.

And then Elpis had thrown it all away.

“What kind of human does that?” Alexus continued, throwing their hands in the air. Humans loved having stupid amounts of power. Anyone who doubted that just had to look at Niflheim. 

“I practically giftwrapped divinity for her! Here, become a Goddess, ensure that you and your true love are safe for all eternity. Get your revenge on the ones who fucked you over. No need to thank me!” 

Except it hadn’t been just thanks that Alexus had wanted. Some small, secret part of themself had hoped that Elpis might love them. Just a little. 

The darkness of Angelgard was strangely silent around them. Alexus could just barely hear the ocean, even with their divine hearing. They supposed, right about now, Elpis was nearly finished breaking destiny and putting things to rights. Bringing back Noctis and everyone who had fallen at Bahamut’s sword. 

“You’re welcome,” Alexus muttered. “All that work and she got angry at me. Why are humans like that?”

Something moved in the darkness. It made no sound, but the movement of it, the shifting of it, was palpable to Alexus all the same. They bit back a groan. 

The problem with talking aloud to oneself, Alexus had forgotten, was that sometimes something answered. 

“Perhaps you are not quite as smart as you believe,” a whispery, hoarse voice sighed. 

Alexus scowled. “That’s clearly not the answer, here. Also, go to hell.” 

Senka’s thin, towering form appeared from the shadows of Angelgard. The tips of her wings dragged across the sand, leaving small trails. She regarded Alexus with all of her eyes. A slight tremor of fear ran down Alexus’ spine. If they’d been a cat, their fur would have been on end and their ears down, trying to make themselves look bigger in the face of a predator bigger than they. 

“So that was your plan all along,” Senka mused. “Bring an unexpected piece into play and turn her into a Goddess.” 

“It was genius, I know,” Alexus said. 

“It was dangerous,” a new voice said. Alexus turned to see a man leaning against one of the swords that were scattered about the prison. His empty eye sockets regarded them with an uncanny air. Alexus had no doubt that he could see them despite the lack of eyeballs. His skin was grey, and a golden scale hung from his right hand. 

As far as looks went, he wasn’t as off-putting as his sister Senka, but Alexus avoided looking at his eye sockets all the same.

“Zedekai,” Alexus said, trying to keep their voice level. “I guess we’re getting the whole family together, huh?” 

“You must stand judgment,” said a third voice, echoing through the shadows of the island. Ramuh’s third child and Messenger, a woman with long white hair and white eyes, gave Alexus a pitying look. 

_Oh shit,_ Alexus thought. _This is actually bad._

Eskarne, the Merciful Lady, shook her head as she took up a place beside Senka. Zedekai came to stand on Senka’s other side. Their youngest sister wouldn’t make an appearance with them. Her attributes were the rain, as opposed to Ramuh’s storms, and she had no heart nor taste for justice. 

Because that was why they were gathering now: When all three of Ramuh’s children came to be in Angelgard, it meant that they were going to deliver judgment from the Gods themselves. 

Alexus raised their hands and took a step back. “Maybe if our parents hadn’t been such assholes, I wouldn’t have needed to get involved,” they snarled. “They stood by and let Elpis be their sacrifice, and for what? Some stupid prophecy where Bahamut gets to do whatever he likes?” 

“You have created something new to this world,” Eskarne said. 

“Something that is not a mortal, and yet not a god,” Zedekai said. 

“Only our parents and Eos can create such life,” Senka said. 

Alexus saw an opening and took it. “And Eos let her live,” they said. “Did you not feel the change in our grandmother? She isn’t what she was before, either. Elpis changed her.”

Just like she could change anyone who came to know her. Just like she could spark hope in anyone’s hearts. 

The three Messengers gave Alexus impassive stares. None of them could comprehend the depth of Alexus’ emotions. Alexus winced, hating the ache in their heart, hating the way their throat tightened. “I love her,” they said. “I love her and I wanted her to live.” 

They felt the chill in the air before Shiva appeared in her mortal guise. “You risked the world for your love,” she said, her voice as calm as ever. “The prophecy--”

“Was chocobo shit, and we all know it,” Alexus said. “And there wasn’t any guarantee Noctis would have won.”

Before any of them could respond, the sky began to lighten. Alexus watched as the sun slowly came over the horizon. From their point on the island, they could see the coastline and what remained of the Cape. Five years under the rule of darkness had left a deep mark on the planet. The docks that had once lined the coastline were splintered and faded. Capsized boats drifted in the calm waves. The sunlight slowly revealed it all, turning the ocean from black to a deep blue once again, the cold sand beginning to warm. Alexus could only just pick up the sounds of birds calling to each other. 

In Lestallum, people would be seeing the sun rise for the first time in five years. Children who had been born in darkness would wake to a world illuminated with Elpis’ love. Or what would have been her love, if she had kept the divinity Alexus had given her. 

A shaky breath left them, and with a start, Alexus realized they were crying. Tears slipped down their cheeks before they hastily wiped them away. 

“You’re welcome,” they muttered to Shiva and the others. “The Starscourge is gone, and no one needed to stay dead for it to happen. Not even Bahamut.”

Shiva tilted her head to the side. “You truly believe you were in the right.”

“Um, yes?” Alexus said, as if it were obvious. Their eyes flicked from place to place, trying to find a way to escape. They always escaped, one way or another. They could do it again. 

Shiva stared at them for a long moment in silence. The other three Messengers merely waited for her word. 

“Elpis let you live,” Shiva said at length. “And yet I do not find myself inclined to do the same. You have caused much trouble.” 

Alexus raised their hands in the air in exasperation. “You didn’t even want the prophecy to come true! You were with Lunafreya since she was a child. You love her. You didn’t want to see her dead, either. Why are you mad at me for doing the things none of you had the spines to do?” 

“Enough of this,” Senka hissed, pulling her scythe up. “Bahamut sleeps, as do the other Gods, once more. What is your judgment, Shiva?” 

Alexus hissed and spun around, trying to shift into a cat. Sigils on the swords glowed as they did so and they felt something like a punch to the gut slam into them. Their body stayed irritatingly two-legged and tall, too easy to spot, too easy to catch, and when they tried to run for the perimeter of the swords, they were thrown back by an invisible field. 

Shiva sighed, her breath fogging as if she stood at the top of the coldest mountain and not an island. Her human form gave way to her goddess form, her feet leaving the sand just slightly. 

“You have many sins to pay for, Wild Flame,” Shiva said. “And though I am loathe to allow you to run free and leave you to your own devices once again... I cannot have you killed. My love for your father forbids causing him that pain. Your brother begged for your life.”

From their prone spot on the sand, Alexus blinked. Rohit had taken their side? 

They had no time to process that, much less figure out why Rohit would do it. Shiva raised a hand and announced her sentence. 

“I strip you of your divinity, Azar Wild Flame, secondborn of Ifrit. If you love humans, you shall become one and walk amongst them as one. You may only return to your natural form once you have proven yourself worthy of it.” 

Terror flooded Alexus’ veins. “No,” they said. “No, wait, you _can’t_ \--”

“So it is decided,” Senka said.

“So it is agreed,” Eskarne said. 

“So it will be,” Zedekai said. 

Shiva brought her hand down, and all Alexus knew was agony. 

* * *

_So, the thing about having divinity stripped away from you is that it actually takes a really damn long time. I mean, if you were already born divine. When Bahamut stripped Elpis of her divinity, it only took him like, what... five seconds? It probably felt longer to her. Because it’s fucking painful. But it only took that little amount of time because Elpis was technically still human, just one with divine powers she’d been born with. Like Ardyn and Somnus and the Fleuret family._

_If you were_ born _a divine creature, though? If you came from a wildfire instead of, like, a uterus and whatever else some creatures use?_

_It can take years._

_You’re changing the fundamental make up of a creature. That doesn’t happen overnight._

_Elpis got lucky, both times. First when she lost divinity and then when she regained it in full form, as a Goddess._

_Me?_

_I didn’t get that lucky._

_It took five years._


	2. Down In It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet our other main character.

Kinda like a cloud, I was up, way up in the sky  
And I was feeling some feelings you wouldn't believe  
Sometimes I don't believe them myself  
And I decided I was never coming down  
Just then, a tiny little dot caught my eye  
It was just about too small to see  
But I watched it way too long  
It was pulling me down  
- _Down In It_ , Nine Inch Nails

* * *

It had been five years since the end of the Long Night, but Cora never got tired of seeing the sunrise.

She rose early each morning. Her tiny apartment on the cheaper side of Lestallum didn’t offer a balcony with a lake view, so she _maybe sort of kinda_ broke the rules by going up to the roof of the building. There, with a cup of Ebony in hand, she would spend the first hour of her day greeting the sun, listening to the world waking up, and taking joy in the fact that she was still here to enjoy any of it.

There were so many who weren’t.

Today’s sunrise was particularly spectacular, starting off with the sky slowly turning from dark blue to a hazy, greyish-blue, until the sun finally crawled over the horizon and began painting the sky pink and orange. The lake would go from a black nothingness to the blues and whites of the waves. Gulls would call out to each other as they dipped into the water for a fish or stole a breakfast from an unlucky person. The darkness would give way to the light, little by little, until the world was illuminated.

Cora never wanted to take the light for granted ever again.

When she was done with the last of her Ebony, Cora stood with a satisfying stretch. She admired the morning one last time before making her way from the rooftop, down the stairs leading up to it, and back to her one-room apartment.

The rest of her days, she was reluctant to admit, rarely ever lived up to the sunrises. She had developed a routine since the return of the sun. After her morning on the roof, she would wash her cup, take a shower, dress, and head out to her job. She might grab something to eat on the way if she hadn’t already had breakfast. Then at the Leville--where she worked--she would spend the day surreptitiously reading a book behind the front desk, where she was typically the only concierge on duty until the afternoon.

It wasn’t a bad life. No, Cora’s life had been bad during the Long Night, and before that too, if she were honest with herself. She counted herself lucky to still be alive to even be bored.

Maybe, Cora mused as she passed by first a couple and then a group of friends, she was just lonely.

But it was too risky to have friends.

Sighing to herself, Cora grabbed a waffle from the breakfast service at the Leville, then took over the front desk from Astrid, who was the night concierge.

“Oh, hey,” Astrid said before she left, “a couple of friends and I are going to check out the new club in the Second Layer this weekend. Wanna come with?”

Cora smiled politely. “Thanks, but no. I have plans.”

“You always have plans,” Astrid said. “Alright, alright. Thought I’d offer. See you tomorrow.”

Cora waved goodbye, then sat and watched the empty lobby for a while. After a moment, she turned the radio on, just to see if there was any news.

“... Preparations are nearly complete for the wedding of King Ravus Nox Fleuret and Laelia Maialen. Tenebrae hasn’t looked this beautiful since Queen Sylva’s wedding thirty years ago, and the people are equally happy and excited to see the couple finally wed...”

Cora turned off the radio. The ensuing silence was loud in its own way.

During the Long Night, the Leville had been turned into the headquarters for the Hunters as they, more or less, acted as the new government for the new world. Five years before, when she’d been twenty-one, Cora had been saved from daemons by the Lady of Hope herself, Elpis Maialen, and brought to Lestallum and the Leville.

After the Long Night ended, the Hunters had moved out of the hotel, which was then turned into housing for a time. However, as things slowly returned to normal, travelers started coming through Lestallum--only a dozen at first, then hundreds, then thousands. People began returning to wherever they’d run from when the darkness had fallen and daemons ruled the world. The Leville was once more turned into a hotel.

It wasn’t a bad job. And considering it was Cora’s first job ever, she was happy that it was relatively easy.

The day passed without any excitement. Cora finished her book, got things ready for Astrid to return that night, then clocked out. She ate a quick dinner at her favorite cafe, checked her usual shopping haunts to see if any new books had come through with the travelers, then bought several cans of chicken from a shop owner who had long since stopped being bemused by Cora’s purchases. Cora hummed to herself as she made her way through the city.

As the Long Night progressed and Lestallum remained the only city with light, the refugees had come in droves. Once they’d filled the city, they’d begun building onto it, going outward in a circle. There were five walls in total outside of Lestallum; no one had torn them down yet, almost as if they were afraid that if they did so, it might somehow cause the daemons to come back and attack their defenseless city. Someone at some point had likened the layers the wall made as an onion, and it stuck. The walled areas had official names, but most residents only called them “Second Layer” or “Third Layer.”

With all the people Lestallum had, it had produced more trash, which meant more rodents. With the rodents came the cats. After the Long Night had ended, the cats had stayed in Lestallum. While some people took them in, most didn’t, as people were still trying to find their footing after what had been the end of the world. Cora couldn’t exactly blame anyone for not wanting to take in another mouth to feed.

Which was why, every day before she returned home, she visited the areas where the cats congregated the most and fed them.

Cora entered an alleyway behind a row of shops and smiled when she heard the meows. “Hello, babies!” she called out to them, which caused the colony to come out of their hiding holes and run to her. After feeding them for so long, they recognized her. She could even pet a few of them or let them curl up in her lap, if she had the time.

“Yes, yes,” she answered their plaintive meows. “I brought food, of course I did. Ah, ah!” Cora waved a finger in the face of a giant ginger tomcat, who lowered his torn ears. “Red, be nice. There’s enough for everyone. Hey! Let me open the cans, first!”

She emptied the cans onto the concrete and the cats converged on it. On the rooftops of the shops, gulls watched with almost palpable envy, and one brave gull even tried to fly down and grab some. A grey cat Cora had named Cloud swatted it away before returning to his food.

When they were done, Cora made sure everyone who wanted pet got their ears scritched, then made her way to the next place. And on her afternoon went, visiting each colony of cats, until she came to the last one.

She knew something was wrong the moment she entered the alleyway. The cats didn’t gather around her like they normally did. She could hear them meowing, even some growls, but it took her a moment to find them in the growing darkness.

They were gathered around a body.

Cora shrieked and dropped her bag of cans.

“Oh my gods,” she managed as her heartbeat thudded in her ears and chest. “Oh no, oh no--”

She glanced down the alleyway, almost as if she could summon to help her if she just wished for it hard enough. When it became clear no one was coming to check on whoever had shrieked, Cora bit her lip and dug a flashlight out of her bag. Her hands were shaking so badly that it took her agonizingly long seconds to turn it on. Finally, she managed it.

The cats all stared at her, their eyes reflecting the light back. They watched as Cora slowly approached the body. She nearly shrieked again when she saw a long trail of red coming from the person’s head, but then flushed with mortification when she realized it was their hair. It was bright red and long, their skin tan. Their black leather jacket was torn, but Cora couldn’t see any obvious wounds.

“Okay,” Cora said, taking a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. Um. Pulse. I should--I should see if they... if they have a pulse.”

Swallowing thickly, Cora knelt down next to the body and, her hand still shaking, reached out for their neck. She couldn’t immediately find a pulse, which made her freak out even more, but then -- just as she was about to give up and call for help -- she found it. A faint pulse against her fingertips.

“So you’re not dead,” Cora said, shoulders dropping in relief. “Thank the stars.”

Yuna, a sweet calico cat that Cora wished she could take home, licked at the stranger’s face. A kitten that Cora hadn’t yet named began playing with their long red hair.

“Hey,” Cora said gently, “stop it--”

The stranger woke with a gasp and sat upright, nearly colliding with Cora’s head. Cora shrieked and fell back, scrambling away from them on all fours.

“What,” the stranger said, then shook their head. “I’m alive. Holy shit, I’m alive.”

As Cora watched, the stranger laughed to themselves, a shaky sound of disbelief. They ran their long fingers and even longer nails through their hair, snagging on tangles.

“I...” The stranger stopped, their green eyes unfocused. Then a tremor ran through their body. “No. No. She lied. She couldn’t have--”

“Um,” Cora ventured, uncertainly. She flinched when the stranger’s bright green eyes found her. “Are you... okay...?”

“Am I okay?” The stranger repeated flatly. They looked away from Cora, their gaze flitting amongst the cats, before they got themselves to their feet.

“Hey,” Cora said, standing as well. “I--I don’t think you should stand. You were--passed out.”

Suddenly, the stranger slammed their fist into a wall. Cora jumped. A strangled scream tore from their throat as they held their hand to their chest.

“Shit,” they said. “Fuck. Fuck! It _hurts_!”

Cora stared. “Of course it hurts! You probably broke something!”

“Broke something,” the stranger repeated, and Cora was tired of having her words repeated back to her in that unsettling tone of voice. “On a fucking brick wall. I could have taken this down with that punch! Wait,” they turned on Cora again, their eyes now gleaming like they had a fever. “How long ago did the light return?”

Quickly realizing she was in over her head, Cora stammered, “Five years ago. It’s M.E. seven hundred sixty-six.”

The stranger stared at Cora for a beat longer before turning away. “What did you do,” they whispered, staring down at their bloodied hand. Then they screamed, and the cats joined in, yowling up at the evening sky. “ _What did you do to me_?!”

* * *

“I think you need to go to the hospital.”

Alexus turned their back on the girl who was staring at them with a look of concern mixed with a healthy dose of fear. If they’d been thinking clearer, they might have been impressed that she had stuck around as long as she had in the face of a clearly unwell person.

However, they weren’t thinking clearly, so all Alexus felt was a vague twinge of annoyance that they were still being bothered.

Ignoring the girl, Alexus tried to call on their magic once again. They thought of the feel of flames, the heat licking at their fingertips, the smell of burning things.

Nothing. The fire didn’t answer their call. There was just… nothing.

_No, no,_ Alexus thought. The absence of their magic felt suffocating. Who were they, if not the Wild Flame?

A cat meowed at them from their feet, twining between their legs. It brought them some measure of comfort. The cats still recognized them, at least. Maybe, just maybe, they could still turn into one?

Alexus tried to shift. Tried to move their body into the familiar pattern of shifting bones and muscles, to go from two-legged to four, to join the cats on the ground. Once more, they were met with nothing. Their bones stayed where they were. Their body remained furless. They stayed upright on two feet.

Someone was breathing quickly and loudly, and Alexus was about to snap at the girl before they realized it was them. They were hyperventilating.

“Hey,” the girl said, holding a hesitant hand out towards Alexus, though not touching them. “Calm down. You need to breathe.”

“What I _need_ ,” Alexus snarled, “is to rip Shiva’s head off her shoulders!”

The girl stared at her. For a brief moment, Alexus thought she would finally leave, but then something shifted in her expression. It turned a little more steely. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.

“Look,” the girl said, “I have no idea what’s happening here, but you’re not well, and you need someone to look at you. Let me take you to the hospital, okay?”

“A hospital isn’t going to be able to help me,” Alexus said. They rubbed their face with their good hand, since the other one was still in agonizing pain. They couldn’t heal it with magic. Their body felt weak. Like they could blow away in a light breeze. “How do humans just… _exist_ like this? You’re like kittens. How do you not break every bone in your body whenever you move?”

“We manage somehow,” the girl said, a note of sarcasm in her voice. “Okay, maybe let’s try this again. I’m Cora. I found you passed out here. I would really like to take you to the hospital so they can look you over.”

Alexus eyed Cora suspiciously. She was a small mouse of a girl, with her muddy brown hair tied up, freckles dusted across her nose, and her brown eyes full of concern. Alexus was close to a foot taller than she – more, since they were wearing their platform heels. Cora had to almost crane her neck upwards to look Alexus in the eye.

Some of the cats went over to Cora, tired of trying to get Alexus’ attention. Cora picked up one and absently petted it while the rest twined around her legs.

_Well,_ Alexus thought, _if the cats like her…_

It was more than that, though. Alexus got the feeling that Cora wouldn’t leave them alone until she was sure they were okay. They could sense a sort of tenacity in her.

Or maybe they had a concussion. Who knew?

“Fine,” Alexus relented. “Hospital. Whatever.”

Cora sighed. “Finally. Come on.”

Feeling rather like a dog on a leash, Alexus followed Cora as she led the way to the hospital. Some of the cats followed for a ways before breaking off back to their colony. They were replaced by other cats from other parts of the city. They all watched Alexus.

Alexus saw Cora notice the cats, but she never said anything about it. After a few minutes of walking, she finally spoke up.

“You never told me your name.”

With a sigh, they said, “Alexus.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Is it really, though?” Alexus muttered. They’d never understood the human need for small talk.

Cora bit her bottom lip and fell silent once again.

It took Alexus a minute longer to realize where they were: Lestallum, what had once been the last bastion against the daemons. The last time Alexus had seen it, the city had been full to overflowing with refugees and Hunters. As they passed by a marketplace, Alexus could only just pick up the scent of different foods being cooked. Before, they could have been able to discern every type of food being prepared, and narrow it down to who was making what without even approaching the stall. Now, it all just blended into one.

Alexus rubbed at their nose. How did humans manage with weak senses like this?

_Gods._ They were a _human_ now. And they’d be a human until they proved they were worthy to be a Messenger again.

_Whatever the hell_ that _means_ , Alexus thought. Of course Shiva would make it vague. The Astrals loved vagueness. It gave them more room to fuck everyone else over.

They arrived at the hospital. It was quieter than Alexus expected, the waiting room nearly empty save for a couple of people. The walls were the unfortunate shade of beige most hospitals seemed to use, and for a moment Alexus was glad their sense of smell sucked now; it meant the antiseptic smell didn’t bother them as much. Alexus left Cora at the reception desk and flopped down on a couch with a heavy sigh.

Cora joined them a minute later with a disapproving frown. “You shouldn’t put your shoes on the couch. Move over.”

Alexus did no such thing. “I’m injured. I get the couch to myself—hey!”

Cora moved Alexus’ feet off the couch herself and sat down.

“Be gentle with me,” Alexus said. “I’ve had a very bad five years.”

Cora gave them a sidelong glance before writing something about a concussion down on the paperwork.

“Okay,” Cora said, “what’s your full name?”

“Alexus Igni Nasci.”

“And date of birth?”

“Before the dawn of recorded time.”

Cora looked up to the ceiling as if asking for patience from the Astrals themselves. “Date of birth?”

Alexus had to sort through their memories for a minute before they remembered the fake date they gave most people.

“April first, seven hundred thirty-six.”

“Sex?”

Alexus blinked slowly, then patted their front. “Whichever one has the mammary glands that make milk,” they said with a shrug.

“Er,” Cora said, then wrote down something. “And, uh, gender?”

Alexus blew a raspberry to show their opinion of that.

“Look, I’m trying to help, here,” Cora said, pinning Alexus with a surprisingly fierce glare, given how tiny she was. Then she sighed and shook her head. “Any known allergies?”

“Dear Gods,” Alexus said, peering over Cora’s shoulder at the paperwork, “someone could bleed out before they ever finished this nonsense.”

“I’m going to take that as a no.”

“Honestly, who knows? I could have tons of allergies now.”

Cora muttered something under her breath and then returned the paperwork to the front desk. She rejoined Alexus’ side, though she sat at the furthest end from them.

Alexus had never been in a hospital before. They’d never had a need to go to one. They’d expected to be taken right back. Instead, the other people in the waiting room were taken back first, and Alexus was left to watch the needles on the clock slowly turn. Beside her, Cora read an extremely old Lucis fashion magazine.

A minute passed, then another, then more and more until half an hour had passed, and Alexus was ready to tear out their own hair.

“Just be patient,” Cora said. “They have to see to more serious cases first.”

Alexus perked up. “So if I stab myself, that’ll make this go faster?”

“No!”

They sighed. “Another logical plan, dashed to pieces by cowards.”

Cora glared at them again.

For a lack of anything else better to do, Alexus studied their hand. It was definitely broken. Probably in several places, in fact. The pain had become a background noise to them at this point. Curious, Alexus moved one of their fingers—

And nearly came off the couch as agony sparked up their arm.

“Don’t do that!” Cora said, grabbing Alexus’ good arm and pulling it away from their hand.

Alexus’s scream—they hadn’t even realized they’d been screaming—tapered off into a whine. “My hand is gonna fall off,” they cried.

“Well, if it does, it’ll be your own fault for _punching a brick wall_.”

“What in the world is going on out here?”

A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a doctor’s lab coat, walked out into the waiting room. Cora immediately dropped Alexus’ arm.

“She’s trying to kill me,” Alexus said.

“Hi, doctor,” Cora said, plastering a smile on for the doctor’s sake. “I’m sorry for the noise, their hand is just really bothering them.”

The doctor looked at Alexus’ bloodied hand, lying limp in her lap, before raising an eyebrow. “I can see why. You’re Alexus, I assume? I’m Doctor Stella Auer, but you can just call me Stella.”

“Oh!” Cora said in recognition. “You ran the orphanage during the Long Night, didn’t you?”

Stella smiled slightly. “I did. But let’s not focus on that right now. Come on back and I’ll look at your friend’s hand.”

The doctor gave Alexus a long look before turning away and leading them down a hallway into a small exam room. Alexus was made to sit on a bed that was probably the most uncomfortable thing they’d ever sat on while Stella and a nurse began tending to their hand.

“So, how did this happen?” Stella asked as she wet a sterile cloth with alcohol.

“They punched a wall,” Cora supplied helpfully.

“The wall won, then,” Stella said. She peered up at Alexus with an unreadable expression. “You were found in an alleyway, unconscious. Is that right?”

In reply, Alexus yelped as Stella began rubbing the blood off their hand.

“How did you get to be unconscious?”

“I spent five years in agony while being turned into a human,” Alexus said, then yelled as Stella began moving their fingers. They pulled their hand away. “Stop that!”

“I need to examine it,” Stella said. “Viera, could you prepare the x-ray room? I want to see what exactly we’re dealing with.”

“Oh Gods,” Alexus groaned. “Can you just wrap it up and let me out of here?”

“Sure, if you want your hand to heal wrong and never be able to use it again,” Stella said cheerfully. She paused, head tilted to the side, then snapped her fingers. “I knew I recognized you from somewhere. You were traveling with Elpis for a while, weren’t you?”

Cora, who had been ignoring Alexus’ whining and the proceedings, looked up sharply.

_Elpis._ The one who’d sent Alexus away to face punishment for helping her. Rage simmered in Alexus’ gut, and they reveled in it, glad for a chance to linger on something other than the pain in their hand. This was all Elpis’ fault. It was her fault that Alexus was in this state now.

_All I wanted was to give you everything you ever wanted,_ Alexus thought. _And you got that. So why did you do this to me?_

“I don’t want to talk about Elpis right now,” Alexus finally managed.

Stella hesitated, looking over at Cora. Then she nodded. “Okay. But if you know where she is, or anything, could you tell her I said hello?”

The nurse returned before Alexus had a chance to reply. Stella acted as if Elpis hadn’t been seen by anyone in years. Had something happened to her? Alexus hated the concern they felt for the woman they still loved, even after everything.

After an agonizingly long time and more pain and screaming, Alexus was finally freed from the hospital with their hand heavily bandaged and in a cast and sling. All their fingers were broken in multiple places. It was, apparently, going to take months to heal properly.

“Ridiculous,” Alexus muttered to themself as Cora paid for the doctor visit. The cast itched already and Alexus wanted to rip it off, broken bones be damned.

“What’s ridiculous is that you have no gil on you at all,” Cora said as she rejoined Alexus’ side. She sighed. “Don’t worry about paying me back, though. I’m guessing you don’t have a job?”

“Ew.”

“Yeah, thought so.” Cora shifted from foot to foot. “Listen… did you really know Elpis?”

Alexus gazed up at the night sky. The stars couldn’t be seen well in Lestallum, though a few especially bright ones managed to shine through the light pollution. It was better than in Insomnia, where you couldn’t see any at all. The night was cool and quiet and the world did not care in the least that Alexus’ entire life had changed in a terrifying way.

Did humans always feel this small and insignificant?

“Yep,” Alexus finally said. “I knew her.”

“Wow,” Cora said. “I only met her once, but she was—well—you know, pretty amazing. She saved me from daemons and brought me here. And I heard afterward that she traveled with King Noctis before the sun came back.”

“Has she gone into hiding or something?” Alexus asked. “Everyone’s talking about her like she’s dead.”

Cora hesitated, then spread her hands. “No one knows? No one’s seen her in five years. After the Long Night ended, she just… disappeared. King Noctis says she’s alive, but… you know, after a while, people start to wonder.”

“Hmmm.”

Alexus very much doubted that no one had seen her. Elpis was probably in contact with a few people, still. And maybe if Alexus found her and convinced her to change them back to their true form…

“Wow, it’s really late,” Cora said, gazing at her phone. She looked up at Alexus. “Do you have anywhere to stay?”

“I can probably find a garden to sleep in,” Alexus said absently, still working through their plan in their head, forgetting that they could no longer turn into a cat and hide in a garden.

“So that’s another no,” Cora said. She fiddled with the strap of her messenger bag before sighing. “This is… probably not a great idea, since you’re crazy and all, but you can stay in my apartment tonight, if you want. It’s not very big, but you only need one night, right? Before you get back on your feet?”

Alexus blinked at her. “You think I’m crazy but you’re going to let me sleep in your apartment with you?”

“I mean, I’m going to keep some mace by my pillow,” Cora said, and Alexus couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. “Come on. I have work in the morning and I want to get _some_ sleep tonight.”

Alone in the world and with no other options, Alexus decided to take up Cora on her offer and followed her home, like a stray cat chasing after the one person who had shown them kindness.


End file.
